


With Open Arms

by BeamsnBows



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-06
Updated: 2012-08-06
Packaged: 2017-11-11 14:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/479332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeamsnBows/pseuds/BeamsnBows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony have a fight the night before the anniversary of his parents death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With Open Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, Bows here. So I had a headcanon, and I turned it into a story. This is my first h/c fic and my first Stony fic. Not Betaed and no spoilers. Please do click the link when you see it, and play the song while reading. This is also crossposted at my tumblr and LJ.

Steve had been awake for a while now, just lying there staring at the ceiling while the soft notes of Tony's piano playing drifted into room. He's been playing the same song for a good hour now, always restarting when he misses a note. They'd had a fight --a bad one-- another one. But then again they always seemed to fight, and it never really matters what the fight is about. In the end one of them always says something they regret and Tony hides himself away from the world while he mentally berates himself. Tony is always too hard on himself.

Steve can clearly recall the fight this time. It started hours before... before it was 'The Anniversary'. Steve had been trying and failing to convince Tony that he doesn't always mess things up. And then the shouting started.

 _"Look at my life Steve, tell me what exactly have I done with! All I've done is ruin other's lives! My parents, Peppers, Rhodey's, those millions of people that were killed because of_ MY _tech... Yours..."_

The one thing he remembered the clearest is how _tired_ Tony looked.

But that was hours ago, and now it's almost three in the morning. Steve rolls over onto his side as the song starts again and stares at the door. He debates for a moment whether he should go down to Tony.  Steve knows he should, especially when Tony gets like this. He's too far deep into his own head, fingers mindlessly running over the keys and only registering a mistake then beginning the song all over again.  
  


_"What’s it called?" Steve asks sitting down on the bench beside Tony._

_"[Open arms](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggJt3C74bRE)." He replies not looking away from keys._

_"It’s nice... but sad."_  
  
 _Tony doesn't say anything just continues to watch his fingers._  
  
 _"Tony?"_  
  
 _That gets his attention and he looks over at Steve as the song comes to a sudden halt. Steve just looks at him, Tony's eyes are slightly watery but he knows no tears will fall. Tony'll hold on to them, fight them as long as he can. And it breaks Steve's heart a little to see him like this. Without thinking he gathers Tony into his arms and holds him tight, hoping to squeeze this mood out of him._  
  
 _They sit silently for god knows how long before Steve hears Tony inhale sharply and mumble "She used to play this with me..." into his neck.  
_ _  
And Steve just swallows, tucks his head further into Tony's neck and whispers, "I know."_

 _  
_Steve is out of their bedroom door before the memory fades. His steps gaining speed as he reaches the landing half way down the stairs but he stops there. He can see Tony his back hunched over slightly and his shoulders shaking every so slightly. Something inside Steve's chest twists painfully, and he swears he can almost feel his heart breaking again. He never meant to let Tony get this far.

Steve didn't notice he had started moving again until he was a few steps from the bench. He reached out to place a soft hand on Tony's shoulder, but stopped himself before he got too close. Steve took a deep breath as he sat down on the bench beside Tony, the song continuing to play seamlessly. This time he takes his arm and wraps it around Tony's waist and patiently waits for Tony to make his move.

It takes a few minutes for Tony to relax into him, but when he does, he does nothing more than place his head on Steve's shoulder. And that is just enough. It's enough to prove to Steve that Tony is still with him, and is slowly resurfacing.

By the time Tony restarts the song for a third time, having only made two mistakes, Steve's begins to notice the warm wet feeling of his shirt on his shoulder. Steve's hand tightens around Tony's waist as he feels the gut wrenching twist again. Tony sniffles, and Steve can't help feeling like he's failed Tony. Let him get so far that he can't hold himself back anymore, can't fight it. And that hurts the most.

Steve wraps his other arm around Tony too, as the song begins to start again and again. The more tears that fall, the more mistakes Tony makes until he just stops playing altogether. He just sits there for a moment, hands still posed on the keys and the silence slowly consuming them both. Until it all cracks and Tony is turning himself to Steve his hands grasping at Steve's shirt.  
  
"I'msorrysosorry. Itakeitback, SteveIloveyou. PleaseI'msososorrySteve, SteveItakeitallback. I'msuchafuckup. Ican'tcan'tdoitonmyownSteve-" All his words are running into each other, his brain is going a million miles an hour and his mouth can't keep up. But Steve knows he means it, means all of it and all he can do is hold on to Tony tighter.

"Idon'twanttobehim. I'mtryingsohard, butit'snotworking. Stevepleasedon'tletme. pleaseIloveyousomuch. justpleaseStevejustloveme-" And that's it, that's all. He just wants to know that somebody –anybody- loves him.  
  
"Oh Tony, you don't know how much I love you. So much Tony, I love you so much."

They stay like that for a while, Tony mumbling quietly into Steve's neck and Steve answering him as best he can. And that's enough, just enough. Steve moves then, pulling back to look at Tony. He leans down and presses their foreheads together, moves one of his hands up to wipe away Tony's tears. And that's enough, more than enough. Just sitting there, telling Tony with his eyes that everything is alright. That having each other is enough. Tony blinks, but his eyes begin to soften and Steve knows then that it's all okay.

So they sit there on the piano bench at three in the morning, just holding each other. Because it's enough, they have each other, their love and a song. And that is just enough for them.

 


End file.
